BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
055 ━━━━━ ❛ hot-headed greengrass ❜

It was the next day. Olivia sat in the courtyard with her friends under a large tree, reading one of her books. It was her and her friend's free period, though they were still missing one person. Lucas was stuck in class, not having the same schedule as the rest of them since he was a year younger. Theodore was lying on his back, tossing up some Chocoballs and catching them in his mouth. Pansy was sitting next to Blaise, who was trying to knock the candies out of the air as Theodore threw them, and the girl was boredly checking her nails, people watching when students walked past. Draco was next to Theodore and Olivia, with Daphne next to her.

It was nice for them to just sit there in silence with each other. As of late, it seemed like they never had a second to settle and relax, especially during the week that Draco and Olivia hadn't been talking. Olivia loved the times like this when they were just around each other, soaking in the sun, bundled in their winter clothes, and sitting on the grounds before the powder white snow covered them. Despite having Daphne there and Lucas not, it was still enjoyable.

It had, honest to Merlin, surprised Olivia that she had been able to stomach being around Daphne for so long without doing anything to her. She had thought about it, of course, but she hadn't done anything, waiting for the perfect time or for her "friend" to snap. Since the year had started, she'd been fully aware of the curious, almost scared looks Daphne had sent her way. When they were in their room, around the corridors and common room, in class, when they sat near or next to one another, everywhere, Daphne seemed frightened of Olivia doing something.

Good. She should be.

Olivia glanced over the top of her book and to the side, subtly staring at the Greengrass girl, who was lost in her own book. Daphne would lose it soon; Olivia knew she would. It was only a matter of time.

"What are you reading?" Draco asked Olivia as he leaned closer to her.

She snapped out of her trance, which was focused on Daphne, and met the boy's eye. He had a faint smirk on his face, perhaps glad that he could talk to her without feeling like she would go off on him. Olivia was glad for that too. Her eyes fell down for a second, focusing on the signature curl of his lips, before she realized what she was doing and quickly brought attention back to her book.

She inhaled deeply, trying to clear her mind of the stupid action. "Uh, it's by a muggle author, so I'm sure you wouldn't be interested," she told him, sending him a brief, knowing look that was paired with a tight-lipped smile.

"Tell me anyway," he replied, taking her by surprise. And she was sure that was apparent in her face as she leaned back a little, closer to Daphne, and studied the boy to see if he was serious or not.

He seemed to be, so she continued. "It's called The Virgin Suicides."

"Sounds morbid," Theodore chimed in, sending Olivia a cocky smirk when she gave him a bored look.

Olivia rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's about five sisters, who all take their own lives one by one over the course of a year. So, yes, Theodore, it is morbid." She reveled in the way his jaw dropped at her bluntness. That was what the story was about, after all.

"Why read such a book?" Pansy questioned her, genuinely sounding curious. There was also a hint of shock in her tone, though she tried to hide it well.

Olivia shrugged. She didn't know. It had been a fairly new release that year, and it had piqued her interest when she came across it in the bookstore in Hogsmeade, which was something most books seemed to do. She never strayed away from a new book, no matter how odd, unliked, and morbid it may be to others.

"It seemed interesting," she answered, focusing back on her book.

Before anyone else could say anything, Astoria skipped her way over to the group. She had been so distant from them, only coming around every so often, that Olivia had almost forgotten that the girl was even at Hogwarts. The young girl stopped in front of her sister, whose eyes were solely focused on Olivia, and offered the group a bright smile. She was bundled, like them, in her winter clothes—a thick coat and scarf covering her uniform with a knitted hat on her head and matching gloves on her hands.

"Stori, are you not supposed to be in class right now?" Daphne questioned her sister, raising her brows as she snapped her book shut.

Olivia's eyes darted between the two girls, the fake note that the younger had given her lingering in the back of her mind. It was because of them two that she was stuck with those stupid weekly meetings with Snape.

"No," Astoria drawled out with guilt.

Daphne gave the younger girl a sharp glance, knowing that she wasn't being completely truthful. "Astoria," the girl warned, wanting nothing but honesty.

Olivia wanted nothing but to roll her eyes.

"I was dismissed early," Astoria replied. "So, yes, usually I would be in class, but not today." She moved to sit down next to her sister, shooting a glance in Olivia's direction, meeting the girl's eyes, and quickly looking away.

"We should play a game, since Olivia did get to play the first time," Pansy suggested.

Olivia gave her a look of confusion and furrowed her brows.

"When you left for your date," the girl reminded her best friend as if it were obvious.

Nodding in understanding, Olivia glanced over at Draco quick enough to catch him rolling his eyes with a slightly annoyed expression twisting at his features. Did the thought of Olivia going on a date annoy him? And why did that make her heart beat harder?

"Right," she muttered, focusing her eyes on Pansy again. "What game shall we play?"

"Wait, you're actually going along with this?" Theodore sounded astonished as he sat up.

Olivia hummed, closing her book. "Well, yes, depending on the game, that is." She leaned further into the tree, setting her book on her thighs and crossing her arms over her chest. "So, what game shall we play?"

"Truth or dare," Pansy replied, sending them a chipper smile.

Theodore groaned annoyedly, clearly not wanting to play the game.

Pansy swatted his arm gently. "Oh, hush, Theo. We're playing."

"Fine," he breathed out, sitting up. "Who will go first?"

"I will," Pansy said eagerly. She went quiet for a moment, her eyes falling on each person as she decided which she would ask the question to. Her expression did not give anything away as to what she was choosing. Until her eyes stopped on Blaise. "Blaise. Truth or dare?" she asked, smirking.

The boy inhaled a breath, taking a second to think. "I shall choose truth," he replied, putting on an aged voice.

"If you could go back in time and change or stop one thing from happening, what would it be?" she asked, shifting how she sat. "And would you actually do it when it came down to it?"

"Intense question, Pans." Blaise chuckled. He then went quiet for a moment as he thought about his answer. A smirk broke out on his face when the answer came to him. "If I could go back in time and change or stop one thing," his eyes travel over to Olivia, "I would change the fact that Olivia did not take any of us to the Chamber of Secrets with her. And yes, I would actually do that."

"Interesting," Pansy drawled curiously as her eyes traveled over to the girl.

"It wasn't nearly as fun as it seems," Olivia revealed, shrugging her shoulders. She rested her hands on the cover of her book, which still sat on her crossed-at-the-ankles legs. She traced along the title of the book.

Theodore popped a few Chocoballs into his mouth. "I don't know, Olivia," he began, his words not entirely clear due to the amount of candy he was eating at a time. He offered her a smirk as she looked up at him in disgust at his need to talk with his mouth full. "A giant snake and a ghost seem pretty fun."

She sighed and watched as his smirk grew, knowing that she despised when he purposely simplified the facts. "It was a basilisk and the memory of Tom Riddle, trapped in his old diary, which is now destroyed. Not 'a giant snake and a ghost,'" she reminded him.

The boy leaned in closer to her, still sitting somewhat across from her. His candies were now fully gone, so she didn't have to worry about him talking with his mouth full. And he teasingly said, "To-may-to, to-mah-to. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

Pansy and Astoria giggled, while Daphne rolled her eyes, and Olivia had completely forgotten the younger girl was still there, sitting with them. Shouldn't she be in class? That reminded Olivia that their free period was quickly coming to an end, and she wasn't looking forward to Divination.

"I've changed my answer," Blaise told them, perhaps having come up with something while Theodore was acting a fool with his simple answers and odd sayings. "If I was able to go back in time to change something, I would change how Olivia almost died," he paused, offering his friend a knowing look, "twice."

"That's sweet, Blaise," Olivia said, giving him a smile. "But I've almost died three times." She held back her grimace, remembering the stabbing, infection, and the Chamber of Secrets. The last one wasn't nearly as close to a death call compared to the other two, in the sense that she hadn't been on a deathbed. But she had been under the school with a basilisk, Tom Riddle, tweedle-dee, tweedle-dumb, and the phony professor, so she did consider it a near-death.

"So what you're getting at is that you're a walking deathtrap?" Theodore raised his brows questioningly with a hint of tease behind his gaze. "Because that's what I'm hearing." He grinned.

Olivia playfully rolled her eyes, with her own grin fighting at the corners of her mouth, ignoring the feeling of Draco's eyes burning her cheek.

"Alright, Blaise, it's your turn to ask someone," Pansy instructed.

Blaise looked around for a moment before his eyes stopped on Draco. "Malfoy. Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Draco answered with no hesitation.

"Malfoy is the wild card," Blaise said, despite Draco being only the second to choose between truth and dare.

Pansy chuckled. "He wants to be different."

"The one to throw us for a loop," Theodore added.

Pansy and the boys glanced at each other, all smirking at their friend's sake as Draco rolled his eyes. "Can we get on with it?" the gray-eyed boy inquired, raising his brows as he leaned further into the tree and crossed his arms over his chest.

Blaise looked through his mind before he chuckled, clearly finding amusement in what he thought of. His eyes fell on his best mate, his expression making Olivia curious. "I dare you to read one of Olivia's muggle books," he challenged, knowing that it was something the boy would hate to do.

Olivia's eyes quickly found Draco, whose face was twisting in disgust. She loved this dare. "I will pick out the perfect one for you," she excitedly told him, poking his cheek with her finger with each word.

Draco grabbed her hand, putting it back in her lap as his eyes swirled with boredom. "None of them are perfect," he told her, sounding completely unenthusiastic about his dare. She smiled at him, and he fought back his own. "But fine."

"Obviously, you won't be doing it right now. However, you only have until the end of the month to have it read," Blaise explained, almost as if he were a businessman making a deal. "I will be expecting updates." He lifted his chin.

"Yeah, yeah," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes. Everyone fell silent since it was now Draco's turn to ask the question. "Pans?" He raised his brows, not even taking the time to ask the simple 'truth or dare' question.

"Truth," the girl replied.

"Boring," Draco sighed, ignoring the glare Pansy sent his way. "If you had to choose between snogging Blaise, Theo, or a troll, who would you choose?" It wasn't that interesting of a question, and if she had chosen dare, then it would've come up with something better. But it worked nonetheless.

"Wouldn't Theo and the troll be one in the same?" Pansy retorted, smirking at the boy she spoke of.

Slapping a hand over his heart, Theodore gaped at her, seeming dramatically offended. Daphne breathed out a chuckle in amusement, reminding Olivia that she was still there. She and Astoria, both of them being so quiet, slipped the girl's mind.

Olivia's eyes fell on them, seeing Astoria staring at her. The younger girl quickly looked away when they made eye contact and moved closer to her sister's side. She was clearly afraid of being noticed by Olivia, who was unsure how she felt about it. Inhaling deeply, Olivia picked at the skin around her nails as she focused on her hands. "Snogging isn't all it's made up to be," she muttered with a sigh.

Everyone focused on her, and they all gave her knowing attention, except for Daphne and Astoria, who were confused. Draco simply turned his expression into one of offense, despite his words to her the other night.

"Is that why you kissed Draco?" Pansy asked, raising her brows.

Her group, excluding Draco, snickered, remembering the girl's confession from the day in the corridor, but only Daphne spoke. "What?" the girl asked, her voice quiet but stern.

The laughs quieted down immediately, and Olivia fought back the smirk by biting her lip as she looked at Daphne. The girl sounded so confused, yet there was an undertone of annoyance. Olivia loved it.

"You didn't know?" Pansy inquired, leaning forward so that she could focus on the girl more closely. Her brows furrowed as Daphne focused on her, her own features twisted in confusion.

The blonde just shook her head, with her little sister sitting beside her, looking worried.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't in the corridor when Olivia told us," Pansy realized. Then a small smile came on her face, her gaze drifting back to Olivia. "Olivia kissed Draco the night we were in the Black Lake." Her tone was so teasing, and Olivia rolled her eyes at it.

"I regret telling you now, Pans," Olivia admitted, sighing.

Pansy gasped in offense as she placed her hand over her heart. "Why?"

That girl spent way too much time around Theodore, Olivia thought. She then gave her a pointed look, and the girl's look of offense quickly turned into a smirk. Pansy just shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth to speak, but Daphne beat her to it.

"You kissed Draco?" the blonde asked to clarify.

Olivia's eyes traveled over to her boredly, and she nodded with a short hum.

"So, are you two?" Daphne's slightly annoyed voice fell short, her words alluding to the two possibly dating. Or something of the sort. She waved a finger between Draco and Olivia as everyone else focused on them.

Olivia's brows rose as she glanced from the girl to Draco, sitting next to her. "Him and I?" Her voice came out more disgusted than she intended, focusing back on her roommate. Draco's eyes were slightly narrowed at her due to her tone, but she ignored him. "No."

"So you... you just kissed him for nothing?" Daphne seemed irritated, and it honestly surprised Olivia. She hated to admit that, even to herself, but it was the truth. However, the shock was overshadowed. The realization that her plan had finally worked came to the forefront of her mind.

Daphne was breaking.

The group grew tense, and with a glance over at Pansy, Olivia realized that the girl probably regretted bringing up the topic. She then gave Daphne a clueless look. "I didn't kiss him for nothing," she countered, keeping her tone calm as everyone's eyes flickered back and forth between the two girls, not knowing what to say. "I did it because—"

"You always do things like this, Olivia," Daphne interjected, closing her book with a snap and standing up from the ground.

"Daph," Astoria muttered, trying to get her sister to calm down.

Daphne dismissed the younger girl and grabbed her bag from the ground. She took her time gathering her things, closing her bag, and placing its strap on her shoulder before she huffed out a breath, her eyes trained on her roommate. Her hands fell on her hips as Olivia looked up at her, taken aback. "And frankly, I'm getting tired of it," she added.

Slowly, Olivia rose from the ground. She followed Daphne with her gaze as the girl took a few steps back, going closer to the castle. Everyone was silent, staring up at the two, wondering what was about to happen. Worried about what was about to happen. Olivia moved forward, coming closer to the blonde girl.

The girl took a few more steps backwards and then turned, seeming as if she were about to take off to the castle. Her fists were balled at her sides, like she was fighting back her anger.

Olivia scoffed at this. What could she possibly be angry about?

"I haven't done anything to you," Olivia retorted, following Daphne, her own fists balled.

Daphne whipped around, her hair turning swiftly with her movements. She was seething, like she was about to burst from anger. Olivia couldn't believe the nerve she had to be mad for no reason. Daphne huffed out a few deep breaths before she relaxed her hands, narrowing her eyes. "I know. It's driving me mad."

A sly, knowing smirk twisted on Olivia's face.

The realization hit Daphne, and she muttered, "But that was the plan all along." Her shoulders fell, like she was giving up, the anger slowly calming.

"Why would she do something to you?" asked Pansy, her brows furrowed as she confusedly stared at her best friends and roommates.

"Revenge," Daphne quietly answered.

Pansy brows raised, confused as to what the girl meant. "Revenge for what?"

Daphne's eyes never left Olivia's. "She thinks I killed Tommy."

Olivia's gaze narrowed for a second before she relaxed her eyes. She took a slow step forward, her mind running with what she believed. What she knew. Her mouth opened as she went to speak, but it took her a moment to get the words, trying to calm herself. "I know you did," she said sharply, her hands itching to reach for her wand and curse the girl. But she had to stay calm. She had to be on her best behavior.

"Why would she do that?" Theodore inquired.

Olivia inhaled, her eyes still trained on the girl in front of her. "Jealousy."

Everyone, except Olivia and Daphne, who were completely focused on each other—one glaring, the other with tired eyes—glanced back at Draco, who was still sitting against the tree, watching the interaction in silence. He gave them all a questioning look, wondering why they were all staring at him.

"You're wrong, though," Daphne told her, sounding sad as the group focused back on them.

Taking a step forward, Olivia narrowed her eyes again. A chill went down Daphne's spine at the intensity of the girl's gaze and the coldness of it. "I saw the look on your face when I found him," Olivia admitted, remembering back to that horrid night the prior year. "You looked guilty." She paused, her voice turning colder. "I know you did it," she gritted through her teeth, enunciating each word.

Daphne looked as if she were about to break down in tears, and Olivia couldn't help but revel in that. Her faking a smile toward the girl and pretending like she didn't know what she knew had been something she'd been doing for entirely too long. She was angry, ready for Daphne to break and get out of her life. She had killed Tommy out of jealousy. Jealousy because Draco had gotten him for Olivia. It was ridiculous.

"Whatever, Olivia," Daphne sighed, seeming tired. She raised her arms and then dropped them to her sides as if she were giving up on the argument. No, there was no argument. Olivia knew what the girl had done, and she wasn't going to ever let it go. Daphne knew this. "Believe what you will; I know there's no winning with you."

Olivia lifted her chin, reveling in her win, though nothing would ever bring Tommy back.

And then, Daphne sent one last glance to the group on the ground, her eyes casting between all of theirs. They were all looking at her with shock. Then she focused back on Olivia. Sighing, she knew she was done with them. Nothing would change what they now all believed. So she walked away without uttering another word. The girl's sister followed her quickly, calling out her name.

Olivia watched both girls as they walked away, the older wiping her cheeks free from the tears she was no doubt spilling, until they were out of sight and out of her mind. It was for the better. Olivia couldn't stand being in that girl's presence for much longer. She had no idea that Daphne was going to go mental on her when she found out about the kiss, though.

Hadn't she told her to go after Draco if she wanted? Interesting...

Humming to herself, Olivia's expression became emotionless as she turned back around to face her friends. They were all staring at her curiously, no doubt still confused by what had just happened. She ignored them, however, and went over to her bag, grabbed her book, put it inside the bag, then slung the strap on her shoulder. Everyone studied her closely as her eyes flickered up and she met Draco's. The boy was staring at her, an unreadable look storming his cloudy gray eyes.

Olivia gave him a small and simple smile, then stood up and walked away.

The group trailed her with their gazes, Theodore and Pansy's mouths agape, while Blaise had his brows raised, and Draco's unreadable expression stayed on his face.

"What just happened?" Pansy muttered, her eyes slightly wide.

"You just witnessed a small portion of the 'Olivia Mallard' from all of those stories," a familiar voice explained.

Their heads whipped around, and they saw that Lucas was walking towards them with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his expression flat, like he was unphased. He was. That was his sister, after all. He came to a stop and sat down next to Pansy, shrugging his shoulders. "That was a tame version, though. She could've done much worse." He paused, running his thoughts through his head, pondering if he wanted to tell them. "And she might still," he admitted.

And she might still.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

"Here you are," Olivia gleamed, each of her arms on either side of Draco's neck as she held a book in front of him. Her chin was barely above his shoulder, with her face next to his. They were in the library, which was surprising to Olivia that Draco was actually in there. He was never there. But she didn't question it.

"What is this?" he asked, raising his brows as he stared down at the book.

She turned her head to the side to look at him as he did the same. Their eyes met, and she sent him a smile. "This is the book I chose for you for the dare Blaise gave you," she explained, focusing on the book again. It was one of her favorites, and she was curious as to how Draco would react to it.

It was a muggle author, so she knew that he was going to be judgmental and hateful about it at the start, but she wondered if his opinion would change as he read it. He had to read it; that was the dare, after all. Well, unless he wanted to be called a tosser or some other not-so-nice name by his friends. She knew that Blaise and Theodore would never let him live it down if he didn't complete a dare. But Olivia pondered if he could make it through.

Draco let out a sigh. "I'd forgotten about that," he admitted, closing his eyes. Then he looked at the book again, reading the title. "To Kill a Mockingbird," he read aloud. "What is it about? A bird?" He did not seem interested at all; his face twisted in disgust as if the book was going to give him an illness.

Olivia rolled her eyes, her smile leaving her face. "No, it is not about a bird." She set the book on the table he sat at and moved from behind him to sit in the chair next to him. "And I'm not going to explain what it's about because I want you to go in blind." She gave him a smirk before she stood up.

He looked up at her. "Really, Olivia?" he inquired, annoyed.

She just wickedly grinned as she stared at him. Then she leaned down and pecked a small kiss on his check. She didn't know why she did it, but she didn't give herself too long to think about it.

"Good luck," she whispered in his ear. And with that, she left Draco alone with her book—his book until the end of the month—and his own hesitation, the smirk still on her face and a little more excitement in her step. She hoped he'd put his prejudice aside and give it a chance.

One could only hope.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
yet another chapter that took me quite some time to finish (this one from the 14th of jan to the 10th of feb) 😭😭 — i had MAJOR writer's block, if you couldn't tell

anyways, the built-up downfall between daphne and her friends has finally happened- don't quite know how i feel about it, and i'm the one that planned and wrote it LMFAO

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,  feb 2024

word count: 4349. written: 1.14. - 2.10.24. published: 2.15.24.